*More than 60 per cent of the 638 members of the Irish Institute of Pensions Management earn over €55,000 a year, and 12 per cent earn more than €125,000, according to a survey.

The findings are part of the first salary survey by the institute on its 25th anniversary.

It showed that the industry survived the recession well. In the past five years, 61 per cent of institute members have seen their compensation packages improve, while 26 per cent reported no change. Just 14 per cent saw a decline.

Some 87 per cent received pension contributions as part of their remuneration, while 41 per cent had a company car or a car allowance. Health insurance was also paid to 37 per cent of institute professionals, and share-incentive programmes formed part of compensation and benefit packages in 24 per cent of cases last year.

The survey was carried out last month and refers to the salaries and packages from the previous year. Around 37 per cent of institute members responded ot the survey.

Almost three-quarters of members got a bonus in the past 12 months. Of those earning bonuses, almost a third received more than 31 per cent of salary.

* This article was amended on October 27th